Wisniewski rips Christie over truck driver bill veto

SAYREVILLE – A bill that would have required truck drivers to be treated as employees and not contract workers drew a veto.

Sponsor and Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski decried Gov. Chris Christie’s action, saying unscrupulous employers will be allowed to continue doing what they are doing.

“Because of the Governor’s veto, unethical companies will continue to skirt the law by gaming the system to avoid paying their fair share of taxes,” Wisniewski said in a release.

“In doing so, they will also continue to deprive their drivers of Social Security, Medicare, Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment benefits.

“His veto keeps in place a system that is unfair to workers and unfair to those companies that play by the rules,” Wisniewski said.

Among bills that were signed today:

*A3598: This bill sets up a conditional dismissal program for some petty or disorderly persons crimes. Defendants could have the charges dismissed upon successful completion of a supervised treatment program.

A prime sponsor, Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, said that “This legislation gives local prosecutors and judges the discretion to decide if someone who commits a minor offense is entitled to a second chance if they perform community service and stay out of trouble. The conditional dismissal program will also help prevent expensive backlogs in the court system, which burden our taxpayers and delay our judicial process.”

*S2311/A2948A bill that would require out-of-state law enforcement agencies to notify N.J. authorities of counter-terrorism investigations under way in the state.

This law was in reaction to last year’s incidences of New York police conducting surveillance of N.J. Muslim businesses and mosques.

“It’s troubling how the people responsible for the safety of our residents were kept in the dark about this,” one of the co-sponsors, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, said in a release. “It’s not only a matter of respect and good will between law enforcement agencies, but a matter of public safety.”

*S2484/A3405: Requires the Women, Infants and Children Services Unit in the Department of Health to temporarily authorize a food vendor that applies to participate in the WIC program if the vendor is already approved to operate at another site. Under provisions of the legislation, the temporary authorization will be granted within 14 days of initial review of the site by the WIC Services Unit and will be valid until the vendor’s application is approved or disapproved.